To re-cap, my first week was a breeze. Motivation was high and food ideas flowed freely and effortlessly. I did not see too many changes however, my energy was strong and consistent and my sugar cravings had diminished quite a lot by the end of the week. There was much excitement around my food and everything I put in my body. I was also very excited about the meditations and practiced every night.
Week two, I also found to go quite smoothly but was bamboozled about why my cravings for sweets returned. Then realizing I had started my period explained that one. I am one of those fortunate women that does not suffer badly from PMS. I get a few cramps on my first day for a few hours but it then passes and the rest of my menses I have no discomfort at all. I do however, get strong cravings for sweets, especially chocolate on the days leading up to my period. Even while detoxing, I experienced these cravings but not nearly as strong as usual and literally had no cramps at all. It was lovely! During this week I started to feel a bit of bloating and gas as I believe my 'yeasty beasties' were dying off with the lack of bad stuff for them to feed on. Still nothing too uncomfortable though. I noticed my skin was looking clearer and I shed a few pounds on the scale. I still meditated religiously, however always seemed to wait until too late and run out of time.
Week three was the highlight of my detox. This was the week I fasted and by far, felt my best.
I did it right this time. Although I worked throughout my fast, I refrained from going to the gym and riding my bike, trying to conserve my energy. I also found it way easier for coping with my hunger, which surprisingly was not an issue. I shed a few more pounds and must admit, I loved my absolutely flat stomach;) However, I have not felt the same since coming out of my fast. The two episodes with a food sensitivity and/or over eating caused me a great deal of discomfort and all though I continued with the enemas, my bowels have not fully recovered. I had the worse gas and only now is the constipation easing a bit. For 1 1/2 days following the fast I went very gradually with portions and textures slowly building to solid food. I thought that was enough time but apparently not. The timing of Easter didn't help either. I will try to figure out better methods of easing out of a fast before my next detox. My goal is to make this transition go much smoother. Again, I did not give my self much time to meditate in the evenings waiting until too late and therefore cutting my meditations short.
Week four was the worse week of my cleanse as I was not feeling the greatest and my motivation had slipped. I also felt upset that the amazingness I experienced following/during the fast disappeared so quickly and did not linger longer. I returned to the gym after an entire week off and definitely struggled at first to regain my strength and energy. This week was not all bad though as I still had good energy levels and my skin still looked great. Although I had put back the weight from the fast, I am still 3-4 lbs lighter than 27 days ago.
Although yesterday was officially my last day of the detox, I kinda began the celebration a little prematurely, and then went over board. Last night was a complete mess which I do not want to go into detail about, however I will say again ' do as I say not as I do";) Do not run out and erase all the hard work you just did for the pass month. Take your time and let your body adjust to the foods as you reintroduce - if you reintroduce certain foods at all. Keeping sugar, coffee and processed foods out of your diet permanently should definitely be one of those great habits you picked up during the cleanse and continue to apply everyday.
I want to thank everyone who joined me on this journey to better health. I absolutely loved hearing people get excited about the great foods they were eating and the positive changes they were feeling. I hope my stories were helpful and inspiring as all of your stories were for me. Most of all though, I hope you hold on to this feeling of pride and self-accomplishment. What you did is not easy and certainly challenging. Thank your self for acknowledging why and who you were doing it for. Thank yourself for acknowledging the importance of your health and how without it, you have nothing. Thank yourself for taking the time to give yourself the love you deserve. Really, this is the ultimate gift one can ever give oneself.
Now sit back and let your body thank you for all your hard work!
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